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So the other day i was playing with a buddy and he had a zzap gun on his battlewagon and he told me it auto hits. Ive tried googling and browsing multiple forums but all i can really find is posts from 2008-2013. Ive scoured the rulebook but i have no ork codex at my disposal. Thanks in advance for helping me clear this up

Zzap Guns have no rule that allows them to skip rolling To Hit.

In future I suggest asking your opponent to show you in their codex where it says they may do what they claim. If they're unable to do so then they shouldn't be allowed to do what they claim, unless you happen to know and/or agree.

Buzzkill9000 wrote:
So the other day i was playing with a buddy and he had a zzap gun on his battlewagon and he told me it auto hits. Ive tried googling and browsing multiple forums but all i can really find is posts from 2008-2013. Ive scoured the rulebook but i have no ork codex at my disposal. Thanks in advance for helping me clear this up

That's a weird claim to make - how did he try and explain it working like that? If you're not sure about the rules on something, don't hesitate to ask to see what their codex says.

Back in 3rd edition, the Zzap Gun didn't roll To Hit but hit automatically. You would roll 2D6 to determine the weapon's Strength, with the roll of an 11 or 12 meaning the weapon overheated and did not fire and one of the Grot crewmen was removed as a casualty (if taken as artillery) or with no other side effects (if mounted on a vehicle). This rule was dropped from the 4th edition codex which was released in January 2008.

 Ghaz wrote:
Back in 3rd edition, the Zzap Gun didn't roll To Hit but hit automatically. You would roll 2D6 to determine the weapon's Strength, with the roll of an 11 or 12 meaning the weapon overheated and did not fire and one of the Grot crewmen was removed as a casualty (if taken as artillery) or with no other side effects (if mounted on a vehicle). This rule was dropped from the 4th edition codex which was released in January 2008.

I'm gonna trust Ghaz on anything Ork related.

Trust me, I had to pull out the old codex and the first Chapter Approved book to make sure I had it right

I long for the days of the auto-hitting Zzap gun. I remember them well. But yes, without that clause, Zzap guns are rather infrequently used now.

With a %50 chance of hitting and the other %50 causing a 'gets hot' result followed by a random 2d6 strength it's not going to be fielder regularly anytime soon. Yes you read that right. On a 1, 2, and 3 when rolling to hit the weapon gets hot.

 ProwlerPC wrote:
With a %50 chance of hitting and the other %50 causing a 'gets hot' result followed by a random 2d6 strength it's not going to be fielder regularly anytime soon. Yes you read that right. On a 1, 2, and 3 when rolling to hit the weapon gets hot.

Very little of that is true.
Firstly, when mounted on a battlewagon it's BS 2. It's only BS 3 (50% chance of hitting) when fielded as an artillery piece, which is fired by grots.
Secondly, the 2d6 strength is rolled for before you roll to hit. That's important, because -
Thirdly, the "Gets Hot on any To Hit roll of 1, 2, or 3" only applies if your 2d6 roll is more than 10. The rest of the time it Gets Hot on a 1 as normal.

I don't feel qualified to comment on the sentiment (that's it's a rubbish weapon), as I lack any in-game experience with it.

/pedant.

Mallich wrote:

 ProwlerPC wrote:
With a %50 chance of hitting and the other %50 causing a 'gets hot' result followed by a random 2d6 strength it's not going to be fielder regularly anytime soon. Yes you read that right. On a 1, 2, and 3 when rolling to hit the weapon gets hot.

Very little of that is true.
Firstly, when mounted on a battlewagon it's BS 2. It's only BS 3 (50% chance of hitting) when fielded as an artillery piece, which is fired by grots.
Secondly, the 2d6 strength is rolled for before you roll to hit. That's important, because -
Thirdly, the "Gets Hot on any To Hit roll of 1, 2, or 3" only applies if your 2d6 roll is more than 10. The rest of the time it Gets Hot on a 1 as normal.

I don't feel qualified to comment on the sentiment (that's it's a rubbish weapon), as I lack any in-game experience with it.

/pedant.

I feel completely justified in making that comment, Zzap guns are garbage.

Zzap guns are used as Anti tank weapons, They are single shot weapons, on Grots they are hitting 50% of the time, on anything else they are hitting 33% of the time. On a roll of 2,3,4,5,6 you are throwing your shot away because the chances of glancing A vehicle with a S6 weapon are not justified for the points cost and possible wounding of your crew caused by a Zzap gun. On a roll of 7,8,9 or 10 your doing ok and you have a good chance to hurt something, but on a roll of 11 or 12 your just killing yourself. Far to risky of a weapon to ever use, more then half the time it doesnt hit, more then half the time it doesn't do anything.

There used to be auto hitting lifta droppas not that long ago. They look like giant zapp guns on battle wagons. But even they require to hit now.

 oldzoggy wrote:
There used to be auto hitting lifta droppas not that long ago. They look like giant zapp guns on battle wagons. But even they require to hit now.

And have a chance of blowing up the battlewagon.